Sixty four shots in a single day, something she will never forget.

She sat at Niti Chokshi’s Allergy and Immunology office for hours, hoping the shots would finally solve her allergies. After months of shots and sinus rinses, nothing seemed to help.

For most people, allergies mean a runny nose when the seasons change. For sophomore Madison Chen, allergies are a daily battle.

“I remember being able to smell when I was younger, but then it just gradually faded away,” Chen said. “Now, I can’t smell anything.”

Five years ago, Chen developed constant congestion and sinus infections. After many doctor visits and allergy tests, doctors found out she was allergic to most of the grasses and trees in Texas, along with dust mites, dogs and cats.

Doctors recommended allergy shots, sinus rinses, nasal sprays and steroids. The allergy shots lasted for eight months, but to expedite the process, she received 64 shots in a single day rather than spreading them out over a few months.

“I was just sitting there all day,” Chen said. “It felt like it would never end.”

Unfortunately, the shots didn’t help.

The only thing that worked for Chen was steroids, but long-term steroid use comes with risks, leading her doctors to consider another option: surgery.

“I was scared about surgery at first, but after so many years, I want a solution, so it's something I am seriously considering,” Chen said.

The root of Chen’s issues are nasal polyps, growths in her nose that cause blockages, swelling and chronic infections.

Chen’s polyps make her highly susceptible to sinus infections, which she experiences almost every week. The options were limited: surgery to remove them or a new medication called Dupixent.

Dupixent requires regular shots, similar to insulin for diabetes. However, the medication is only available to ages 18 and older, and its long-term effects are unknown.

“I would do the medicine because it won't be possible for the polyps to come back if you keep on taking it,” Chen said. “But it's also really expensive, and it's a daily thing, or a weekly thing, that you have to keep on taking for the rest of your life.”

For now, Chen is back to allergy shots, but her daily struggles continue, even after she scheduled a surgery this summer in hopes of long-term relief.

“I can’t smell, and I have sinus infections basically every day,” Chen said.

Her friends notice her struggles as well.

“Sometimes we’ll all be out, and Madison just can’t smell anything,” sophomore Sadie Gill said. “We’ll be like, ‘Ew do you smell that?’ and we’ll just stare at her like, ‘Oh, you can’t.’”

Chen thinks her cough is the most noticeable of her symptoms.

“My coughs are super crunchy,” Chen said. “Those are hard to ignore. I get really embarrassed. It’s very loud, and so sometimes I have my friends cover for me. I do the cough while I have my head down, and they do the coughing motion.”

Being in class can be difficult because of her coughs.

“It's hard day to day, because in my classrooms, when there's a moment of silence and I need a cough, it just feels like my throat is closing up and I can't, Chen said.”

Despite everything, Chen continues to push through.

“She always works hard on every assignment, and if she gets stuck, she’ll ask for assistance and she knows how to persevere,” Computer science I teacher Trent Landry said.

“It’s just something I deal with now,” Chen said. “I try not to let it get in the way of everything else.”